A Magi, Reborn
by Naita2
Summary: "Balbadd's changed for the better now, miss." The waiter says in a surprisingly soft tone. I look up at him an unasked question resting on my lips. "There's no more poverty . . . or hunger, and the king has secured peace for the Republic of Balbadd." "A king for the Republic of Balbadd?"
1. Night 1

I land face first into the hard earth, dirt rubbing even more into my face.

"Again," my teacher commands.

My body aches, my hand has imprints from how hard I've been clenching my wand. It lays a few feet away from me, the silver color of it tainted to a tan color by the dirt. I sigh heavily and push my body up again, and pick up my wand. Two pieces of silver metal spiraled around each other before splitting away in a U shape, in the center, right before the split was a white jewel. A crystal that gleamed a purplish-blue color in the light. I clench my hand around it and the ruhk immediately enters my body, a ball of wind, violently spinning around in a sphere, appears in the middle of the wand in between the split.

I swing my wand towards my right, and several gusts of air fly towards my teacher. They each cut his skin in various spots, and blood quickly follows from the gashes. He does not blink. He didn't even bother to dodge.

"Not deep enough, your strength is not enough by itself."

I frown. We were already inside his barrier, one that limits the amount of ruhk allowed through. The first lesson learned was to not use up the ruhk all at once or too quickly, the next was to control the ruhk.

"Rest now, we shall build up your physical strength from now on," with that, my teacher turns and walks away. Back to the other instructors, faceless people that stand behind the thin curtain that separates them from the sparring area. They always just stood and watched, black figures that I only knew as the rest of the instructors sent to train me.

A soft hand wraps around my own, pale as snow slightly dirty from touching my own caked in dirt. Her clothes are floral and white, beautiful. Chic and shear, like all the other caretakers, made of material that those outside of the Kingdom could only dream of.

"Come, Tahira. Let's get you cleaned up."

Her name is Hessa, and she is beautiful. She had long, straight black hair and pale skin. Her eyes were blue and light as crystals. Hessa was my personal caretaker, not like the others hired by the "powers that be". Hessa was the only face I could recognize anymore, I'd read about mothers and fathers in books about children from a faraway land called Earth.

* * *

"Hessa?"

"Hmm?" She was scrubbing soap into my hair while I was cleaning the rest of my body.

"Why do I need to train so much?" Silence. Hessa never liked answering this question, but I never liked her not answering it either. I had to know. There are a bunch of questions Hessa wouldn't answer. Like my parents, or the greater powers, or what was outside of the barrier, or even Lunaria.

"So you can control ruhk."

"But why?"

"So you can balance the light and dark ruhk. It is your fate."

I looked down at my stomach, the scar there was still light colored. It was from the dark ruhk that entered my body from the last training session. _'A failed attempt to control dark ruhk'_ , was what the instructors whispered afterwards.

"But Lunaria is perfectly balanced, that's what the other caretakers say."

"That's true, but your purpose is meant to balance Earth."

Outside of my window, children are screaming and chasing each other. But today I cannot play outside and join them, I never get to join them. Hessa says that today is an important day for training. Today was the beginning of physical strength building, which was critical to use all of my energy properly. At least that was what she told me this morning, but the sun was high near the center of the sky. I kept hearing hurried shuffling in the halls and shushed whispering every now and then. I didn't bother to listen in this time.

The door creaks open and Hessa steps into my room. He face is layered with worry, her eyebrows are scrunched and her mouth is in a deep frown.

"Tahira, we must go. There is someone you need to meet."

"Who is it?"

* * *

The boy staring at me has an annoyed frown, his eyebrows twitching slightly. There are several servants tending to him: combing his hair, messaging his feet, tending to his nails. The boy looks same age as me, about seven or eight, with dark hair and red eyes that look like jewels.

"Why have you let a commoner in?" My eye twitches.

Another servant glances at me with just as much irritation before it disappears in the next second. They clear their throat before speaking, "Judar, this is another magi. She's been reborn, like you."

I hear Hessa groan slightly and I glance at her. She looks angry, but it quickly melts away into a smile, "Go on, introduce yourself."

I turn back to the boy, he is staring down at me with a half-bored expression. I approach him in his throne-like chair, before the servants block my path.

"That's close enough."

My eyebrow twitches but I comply, I grab the edges of my simple white dress and curtsey. The dress was made of cotton, and wrapped around my body in a way that wouldn't interfere with my movement for training. Training was the only reason I didn't have nicer clothes.

"My name is Tahira, Magi of balance from the realm of Lunaria. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

When I lift my head again, the boy, Judar, is scowling at me.

"Your name doesn't sound that nice," he mumbles, still loud enough for me to hear.

"E-excuse me?"

"Heh," the boy gives a smirk and stands, he slowly approaches me as I let go of my dress and rise from my curtsey.

When he's closer to me, he frowns again. "And what's with your hair?" He grabs a handful of my hair, the curly locks wrapping around his fingers. My hair wasn't long, it was just at my shoulders, so I winced in pain.

"Stop!" I yell.

Judar scowls again, "It's so curly, it's not straight at all." His fingers explore my head some more, his face has an expression I've never seen before, "It is soft though."

I grab his hand, digging my nails into his skin, "Let go!"

Judar hisses and his fingers unwind, he clutches his hand, the imprint of my nails showing up on his pale skin. "You wrench!"

Hessa steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder, "I believe that's enough, young magi." Her voice is strict, her stance firm. Her legs were spread wide into her usual fighting stance, it was then I wondered how strong this magi is.

"Tch, I'm done with her anyway. She's not interesting at all," Judar claims while turning his back to me and walking back towards his throne-like chair. He turns to me one last time and stick his tongue out at me while pulling his bottom eyelid down, I stick out my tongue in return. Hessa shoots me her stern glare next and I stop. Judar disappears behind a large door in the corner of the room with most of his servants.

"Tahira, please wait outside for me," Hessa commands, she's being so stern that I quickly leave. From the doorway, I still hear Hessa speaking with a few of Judar's servants in hushed voices:

"He's still just as wild as he was before."

"He was just reborn, Hessa."

There's a long pause, "At this rate he'll be just like he was before. How do you plan to prevent him from being the dark magi he was before?"

"We have our ways . . . You should be thankful, Hessa, that that child of yours isn't slain right here and now."

"Tahira is the rightful replacement for Judar! There is no need to murder her when Judar is in no position to return to Earth!" Hessa inhales sharply and lowers her tone:

"Perhaps this was too soon for them to meet. If we wish for them to work together, I expect Judar to be much more polite and know his place in this team."

Silence. "Unless . . . you would rather for Tahira to continue to train on her own? Lunaria is still satisfied with the idea of her carrying out her fate alone."

"N-no . . . Give us time. His behavior will be much better the next time they meet. Judar will definitely work with Tahira."

"I expect so," with that, Hessa stomps away and opens the door. She grabs my hand and we leave the castle without any more words.


	2. Night 2

I duck inside a lively tavern. My feet ache. I followed Hessa's map to Balbadd carefully, choosing to walk most of the way instead of flying. I sit at a corner and give a comfortable sigh, I'm approached by a waiter immediately an order some rum. I don't normally drink rum, but a bit never hurt me.

Two older guys are nearby. They are both burly, hairy men that reek of alcohol. They're yelling at each other and laughing way too much.

"Man, I love Balbadd. I should move my family out here!"

"Yeah. The slums aren't around and no one goes hungry anymore! It's great. The taxes are cheap too!"

I scrunch my nose in confusion. This was nothing like the Balbadd, not from what I'd heard in my lessons. The waiter is back just as quickly as he left, he sets a heavy-set thick wooden cup in front of me. I stare at the foggy brown liquid in silence.

"Balbadd's changed for the better now, miss." The waiter says in a surprisingly soft tone.

I look up at him an unasked question resting on my lips.

"There's no more poverty . . . or hunger, and the king has secured peace for the Republic of Balbadd."

"A **king** for the **Republic** of Balbadd?"

The waiter bites his lip and looks at my shoulder, his eyebrows scrunch together. Maybe this was something not easily explained.

"Yep, and he's the best damned king we've ever had, Alibaba Solja!"

"Long live the king!" The two drunken men yell another hearty laugh and toast their already half-empty rum bottles. I drink my rum and eat a bit of bread before choosing to leave.

"You're not from around here, are you miss?"

"No. I'm from somewhere . . . far away."

The waiter's face softens and he rubs down the other tables, "You'll love it here, I'm sure."

I give a curt nod and leave my gold coins.

"I'd also like a room please . . . If it's not too much."

* * *

I blink several times at the light leaking in through the window. I hear many voices outside. Through the window, a crowd of people are gathering down the street. They are all gawking towards the east, talking loudly in worried voices. I throw on my clothes and come outside.

I cup my hands around my eyes, the sun widely blocks whatever thing people are looking at, but I make out the tall silhouette of a tower.

"A dungeon appeared little miss," the same waiter is already outside. He leans against the doorframe and I approach him.

"Who summoned it here?"

He shrugs, "The only magi around here is Aladdin . . . But I don't know why he would with Alibaba around . . ." The man stretches and disappears back inside the tavern. I walk with the crowd, hoping it will lead me to the dungeon.

But I've had the nagging feeling that something was very off. Even now, people were so happy, so carefree. Everything felt so peaceful, the town seemed to lazy now. On my walk, I passed several shopkeepers sleeping near their stands without fear of thievery. Even I knew that this was a far stretch for something as abstract as world peace. Has it really been obtained? Rukh swirled everywhere, around everyone. There was no dark rukh in sight. But even still, something still felt unsettling about their rukh.

"Have a safe trip brother!" A young voice screeches. To my right, a young girl and her mother wave to an older boy. They all wear the same face. Each person is smiling, the boy is showing all of his teeth. Even still, for a faint moment, I saw pain in that smile. It was the forced smile of uncertainty that felt familiar, the same smile I kept seeing on Hessa's face before I came to Balbadd. But perhaps this was just a misinterpretation.

I push on forward. Some time passes before another child's wail startles me. Perhaps the calm of the town was getting to me, I hadn't noticed the new kid right in front of me, crying his eyes out. He was still a fair way away, several feet too far for him to hear my voice, but his screaming reached my ears just fine. An old woman slowly walks towards him, she stabs her cane into the soft orange dirt with every other step. She places her hand on his shoulder.

"Be still, Kichirou. There is nothing for you to be sadden about."

The child's wailing dies down as the old woman strokes his head, but he still whimpers, "But grandm-"

"Hush child!" The woman's voice is surprisingly sharp, the child's breath hitches and he looks afraid. "Your life is so amazing, you know nothing of the times before, of poverty and famine! Of war and destruction! You're so selfish to behave this way!"

My eyes widened at her harsh words. The child sucks in air and wipes his eyes face. The old woman's face softens and she smiles again.

"See? Isn't it better with King Alibaba's protection? Don't forget your privilege, dear." The old woman takes the child's hand and the both walk opposite way of the crowd. Surrounding the boy is just the slightest bit of dark rukh, outnumbered by the lighter rukh, but still there.

* * *

 _'Ah, how boring. Not even one of them can beat my dungeon.'_ Judar's expression gives away his thoughts too easily. He floats above the dungeon, twirling part of his bang in between his fingers with a bored expression. Several townspeople have entered the dungeon throughout the day, I haven't seen the same face return. The corners of my face were weighed down into a deep frown. The last time I saw Judar was still in my childhood, back when the court was still trying to get us to work together as a duo. The castle was very protective of him, as I always had to travel far to meet with him, only to be greeted with his rudeness again.

In the end, we couldn't get along and refused to work together. I continued to train solo. It was as fate decided, the court announced to the public, proof that nothing could change what the oracle had written.

I fly up to Judar, I dreaded talking to him more than anything right now, but I needed to know why he was here.

His eyes were already locked on me the moment my feet left the ground, it made me uneasy.

"Tahira . . . you've grown nicely," he eyes me up and down. It was true that I had developed much more quickly than the caretakers expected, but that wasn't the sort of greeting I wanted to hear from him right now. I finally got to ditch the training rags and get real clothes. A tight fitting short skirt I'd tied around my waist, and a tube top that Hessa hand woven for me. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was embarrassed by showing off my navel this way and just wore it anyway.

"I see you have too, Judar." I eye his torso, he seemed deliberate in showing off his muscled stomach.

"Like what you see?" He says with a smirk.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just having some fun," he approaches me and leans in close, cupping a handful of my hair.

"Your hair is still as soft as ever," he runs his hands through to the ends, then frowns. "These curls are still annoying."

I continue glaring at him, "Don't touch my hair anymore."

"Still feisty, eh?"

"Judar, state your purpose now. I have no intention on wasting my time on you."

His smirk widens and he chuckles a bit, "What? Still no fun? I need a king candidate after all. It's my fate as the magi."

Judar still had the light rukh surrounding him. He is still loved by rukh. Hessa warned me about him being in danger of falling into depravity.

"Tahira," Judar mumbles, his face is unreadable. "How about we show each other our strength?" In his open palm, black rukh gathers to his fingers. The panic shoots up my stomach as I realize my mistake. Judar really has fallen into depravity after all.

Before I know it, Judar has gathered enough black rukh to form a black sphere, and I have no time to react at all. Instead I attempt to thrust my energy to get away from him, even though I know Judar is faster than me, he's always been faster than me. Whatever he had planned, it was going to hit me dead on.

I feel heat next to my right ear and a blast of fire engulfs Judar. My head snaps over and a teenage boy is floating on a magic carpet, one with the same long braid as Judar's, only blue. I've heard of his stories before, the stories of Solomon's son, Aladdin.


	3. Night 2-2

**Chapter 2.5**

 _'Ah, how boring. Not even one of them can beat my dungeon.'_ Not even one of these humans could beat this simple dungeon I summoned. _'You're all much too weak.'_ I think while glancing through the crowd. All of them are the same. Same happy faces, some white ruhk, same carefree ignorance granted by that brat. Off near the center, I make out a figure moving through the crowd. A new dungeon capturer? No. It's her.

Tahira was different, it would be foolish to imagine that she would stay the same from childhood. Even I am different from then. Her hair was longer, although still curly, and her skin was just as dark. Her skin tone was still not a bad shade. She glares at me from below for a while before deciding to fly up to me, her outfit was different too. She had a silk white skirt that wrapped tightly around her hips, and a shear bra. Her bare waist was tiny, the smallest I'd ever seen on a woman.

"Tahira . . . you've grown nicely," I eye her up and down. Her body has definitely developed into a woman.

"I see you have too, Judar." Her eyes travel down my own body.

I smirk, "Like what you see?"

Her face flushes, but her expression doesn't change "What are you doing here?"

I shrug, "Just having some fun." I float towards her and my hands dig into her hair instinctively.

"Your hair is still as soft as ever," I drag my fingers down through to the ends. "These curls are still annoying."

She gives me a nasty look, she's never looked at me that mad before. "Don't touch my hair anymore."

"Still feisty, eh?" I know I'm pissing her off, but she's so much more fun when she's mad.

"Judar, state your purpose now. I have no intention on wasting my time on you."

I could feel my smile widen and a chuckle escapes my lips, "What? Still no fun? I need a king candidate after all. It's my fate as the magi."

Tahira stares at me for a long time in silence. I think about teasing her again but realize another curiosity. She was always on par with me, even if her element was wind and she couldn't do any combos. She still had the white rukh surrounding her, but even after all this time, she couldn't still be at the same level as me. There was only one way to find out.

I gather the dark rukh, "Tahira, how about we show each other our strength?"

Her eyes widened and she turns to get away. I smirk. _'Too late.'_ But in that same moment, I see someone in the corner of my eye. A small boy on top of a magic carpet, staff in hand, white rukh gathered and he's directing it at me.

 _'Shit!'_ I take the dark ruhk and shield myself instead of throwing it at Tahira. Seconds after, hot flames are surrounding me.

When everything is clear, Tahira is gone. There's only that blue-haired boy, one with an amazing amount of rukh. The magi, Aladdin.


	4. Night 3

**Chapter 3**

"I'd never imagine that Judar would come back," Aladdin says with a sullen face.

We are sitting in some sort of conference room, at a long table usually held for royal officials. Aladdin took me here after Judar left. They fought until Judar was in danger of dying and he fled. I've never seen him distressed like that before, but it seemed to match how strong Aladdin was described to me as. He took me here immediately afterwards, asking if we could talk. We were waiting for the king, Alibaba, to join us.

I sat in silence next to Aladdin, he seemed focused on something else involving Judar. I decided to wait a while before asking about him:

"I-I'm guessing you and Judar are enemies?"

Aladdin looks at me, his frown deepening, maybe this was another complicated matter.

"W-we aren't enemies anymore . . . but seeing his face again is . . ." Not pleasant. But the displeasure I felt when I saw Judar was different from what Aladdin felt. It was more sorrowful, a bit aching.

"Anymore?" I probed after some silence. Before he can respond, the large doors behind him open and a blonde man steps through.

Alibaba looks serious, his face a lot more worn than the pictures I've been shown. He approaches the table quickly, each step deliberate. His eyes flicker towards the window before sitting down, the tower was still standing proud. It loomed over Balbadd like a bad itch.

"Tahira, was it?" I turn my head back towards Aladdin, both of them were staring right at me.

"Y-yes."

"What's your connection to Judar? Are you two enemies?"

My connection to him? Hell, we weren't friends, that's for sure. I certainly couldn't tell them we were anything more than friends, but we weren't enemies. But then again, he was ready to pummel my face a few hours ago. Aladdin's face grows with worry as I hesitate.

"We used to know each other as kids."

"Oh, like childhood friends?"

"No, we argued all the time. Our caretakers tried to make us work together in benefit to each other's fate, but it didn't work out."

The two men in front of me frowned deeply, whatever I said must've been bad. They had gloomy looks on their faces.

"I-I certainly have no cares for him. His affairs are of no concern to me. I will fight him if need be, but we are indifferent to one another." I stared at them in silence. I felt nervous the longer they mulled over my words. Perhaps I overcompensated trying to explain our relationship, or rather the lack of existence of one.

"Your . . . Your fate?" A deeper voice questions. I turn towards Alibaba, was this what scared them so much?

"Yes, the reason I'm here is all for my fate: to balance the black and white ruhk of this dimension to the best of my abilities."

"Does Judar have his own decided fate?" It was the first time the thought crossed my mind.

"I don't know."

They both look at each other, still having grim expressions on their faces. I searched my mind for something to say, I had the feeling that we both knew something the other party didn't. I couldn't think of what else I could say that connected to Judar. Perhaps it was better to just start at the beginning of my thoughts:

"I was supposed to replace Judar, hence why I even exist. I was born in a dimension called Lunaria, who determined that I would balance the ruhk. But Judar was reborn at the same time as me, no one knows why. They tried to make us work together, but it didn't work out. Instead I continued on my own and came here."

"Oh, so that explains why he looks so young," the king replies. He turns his head to me, his expression much calmer now, "So you don't know anything about his past life?"

"No, nothing much."

* * *

I return to the inn, feeling much more mentally tired than physically. My feet feel heavy, two skinny lines going through the dirt behind me. I never imagined Judar capable of such a thing. He was annoying yes, violent definitely, but I wouldn't have guessed he would start a war like that. Then again, I didn't really know Judar, he was just some kid I sparred against when I was younger. Aladdin and Alibaba's faces made sense now, there was great concern surrounding Judar. Like if he remembered his previous life or if he would end up remembering later, then what would he do? Would he start shit again? Could that be prevented from happening? I reassured both men that I would keep an eye on Judar, and do whatever I could to stop him from getting out of control. Aladdin stood up and kissed my hand, thanking me. Whatever happened after that I couldn't remember, because I was too flustered, and I was outside the castle. Perhaps they offered me to stay in the castle for the time being, but I knew I wouldn't stay too much longer.

My stomach growls loudly. I wasn't sure how much time I'd spent at the castle, but it was sunset when I left the castle, and now it was well into twilight. The inn wasn't too much farther, but it was well lit and loud with fun-loving drunkards. I didn't want to spend another evening drinking beer and eating pub food, not next to a bunch of drunk men. Instead, I continue wandering around, looking for something to bite. I resort to buying a bunch of food from a stand to cook later. As I'm stacking the food into a brown bag, I hear a loud racket, and some yelling. To my left, a small kid is running away from two men, both of them burly and muscular.

"Get back here, brat!" One of them yells, the other one is shouting in a disgruntled voice, but he's running much faster than the other one, and his voice is lost quicker than the first guy.

A few people stick their heads out of stands to see the commotion, and I sprint over to the end of the street. The kid is gone, and the two men make a sharp turn into an alley. I sigh and continue following them, Balbadd was such a lazy town that it would be cruel to let trouble like this happen. That, and I'm too much of a softie.

"-and just what do you think you're gonna do with that?"

"You gonna stab us, punk?" The two take slow steps towards the kid. Who, on closer inspection, looks very familiar.

"Excuse me," I chime in. "It seems like he's done something wrong."

"Eh? You know this kid? You his mom?"

"No, I just-"

One of them approach me, resting a hand on my shoulder. His face is soft, his touch gentle, it seemed strange after seeing him so pissed at the kid, "Then don't worry about it miss, you don't want to get involved with this thief." He gives me a smile, the same unsettling smile that the mother and kid had saying goodbye earlier. It was painful, like a false sense of safety.

"Please, whatever he stole, I'll pay for it. I'm sorry he caused you trouble." They look at each other with wide eyes, one of them scratches the back of his head.

"Are you sure? That weapon's pretty expensive." My eyes widen. This kid stole a weapon?!

"Y-yes," I mumble, pulling out my bag of coins. I hand them a bunch of gold coins and they count out the amount. Once appeased, they leave after telling me about their shop.

The kid is still in the corner, he sighs in relief and slides to the ground. In each hand is a pair of kusarigama, a sickle attached to a long chain. Upon further inspection, the boy looked pretty cute. He had short messy black hair and the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. I walk up and plop down next to him:

"Kichirou, right?"

He looks up at me, shocked for a second. But whatever thought he started he let go of, "Yeah . . . you're that magi, right?"

"Tahira . . . mind telling me why you're stealing weapons in Wonderland?"

" . . . I need it . . . for the dungeon."

My head snaps towards him, "You? Go into that dungeon?"

"Y-Yeah," Kichirou stands up and grips both kusarigama, "You s-summoned it right? I'll make you c-come with me." He points one of his kusaris at me, but his hand was shaking.

I stand up and glare at him. I take a few slow steps and grip his wrist, his beautiful blue eyes are plagued by fear. "Don't point a weapon at anyone if you can't use it, especially if you're too afraid to use it. Secondly, you're much too young to go into dungeons. What business would you have there?"

Kichirou's face drops, his hands fall at his sides and he looks at the dirty pavement.

"There's someone I have to face."

What the hell did that mean? "Are you out for revenge?"

Kichirou doesn't answer. His face is unreadable under his hair, and it was well enough past nightfall.

"You should get back home kid, your folks are probably worried."

" . . . yeah."


	5. Night 4

**Author's Note:**

 _Hello everyone, sorry for disappearing again. This time was only half of my fault. My computer crashed and had to be sent back to the manufacturer to have parts replaced (hard drive, motherboard, keyboard and mouse) after trying to fix it myself and calling Indian tech support. I got no where and sent it back. Completely lost chapter 5 after I was damn near finished it, got frustrated, and had to take a break. I will continue typing this in google drive so as not to lose anymore files. Thanks for being patient with me._

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

I stand in front of Balbadd's gates. The port wasn't too far away, and it was a miracle I could convince a sailor to let me sail with him. But something wasn't sitting right in my stomach, something was very wrong. I kept thinking about that kid. I mean, he certainly wasn't my problem, but he wouldn't be crazy enough to go headfirst into that dungeon. Would he? The guard eyes me suspiciously, this certainly wasn't the place that people just hang out in . . .

I bite my lip as I turn on my heel and let the gates fade away behind me. There was no way my conscience was going to let me leave easily without knowing if that kid really went in there.

* * *

"Kichirou? . . . Kichirou!"

Damn this fog is thick. It hit me with this fog as soon as I entered the dungeon. There seemed to be no end to it, there also seemed to be nothing else but the fog around. No trees, no buildings, no grass, just an empty dirt road and a lamp every few feet. My thighs pounded and it felt like I've been walking forever. I wanted nothing more than to rest somewhere, or to at least talk to Kichirou and know where he is. Though I pressed on.

Another yellow orb appeared through the fog, another street lamp. As I got closer, I could make out a long rectangle next to it. I heard the ringing before I made out the words engraved in the top of it. Through the window, there was no phone book inside the booth. Inside, there was no coin slot either. I stared at it long enough before the shrill ring seemed loud enough to break me from my thoughts. I lifted the phone from the receiver:

"Hello?"

"Hello? Who's this?" I hear a childish voice on the other end.

"Tahira. Kichirou is that you?!" I swallow hard, embarrassed of how much my voice sounded like a worried mother.

"Yes it's me. It's dark miss and I don't know where I am."

"You're in the fog too?"

"Fog? What fog? I can't see anything, it's dark."

I'm speechless. My mind frantically searches for any words to say, but it's not coming quick enough. Behind me, I hear the phone booth door squeak open and groan close again. I whip my head around, Judar stands there, smirking as if he's up to no good. Once again, my brain and my mouth are both delayed. Kichirou is saying something through the phone, but I'm too dumb to catch it. Judar slowly takes the phone from my hands and gently places it back on the receiver. His eyes never leaving mine. His eyes . . . they seem ominous here, like they're glowing or something.

"What are you doing here, Judar?"

He doesn't say anything. Just stares blankly before smirking again and lifting his hand. He touches my cheek ever so softly and strokes it gently. I smack his hand away.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

He frowns, then his eyes flicker to something behind me. His attention is drawn there for a long moment. I turn my head and look above the phone, but there's only fog to greet me. The door squeaks open and Judar is in my line of sight, disappearing into the fog. My feet are sprinting after him way before my mind had decided to follow him. He doesn't get very far before I'm by his side again.

"Judar," I begin, but he doesn't acknowledge me. Doesn't turn his head. Not even a blink from him. He just keeps walking forward, staring ahead like he could see where he was going.

"Earth to Judar? Hello?" No response still. Instead I fall into silently following him. There's an uncomfortable silence that drags on for what feels like forever.

We arrive in front of a lake. Or maybe a beach of some sort. It's a large body of water that I can't see the end of. For all I know this is the Atlantic Ocean. I look to my left, Judar is gone. My head snaps the other way and I spin around a few times. There's only the water and the fog behind me.

' _Well, whatever. I need to find that kid anyway.'_ But even with this thought in mind, there wasn't much use in looking for him like this. It was no point in continuing stumbling around in the fog.

"Tahira," I hear the sound of shifting water. To my right Judar was in the water, lounging. The water was up to his neck and he didn't have his clothes on anymore from what I could see, but he still had that damn smirk on his face.

"Come here," he says quietly. In the same moment, I smell something sickeningly sweet at first. Like a perfume that's too strong, it reeks strongly of vanilla.

At first I was resolved to deny him. But in a flash that all melted away. My brain turns to mush and Judar is suddenly alluring. My body is lurching forward to the water without my brain. All I could focus on was the smell of vanilla, and how thick the air is. Thick and hot . . . so thick it felt like it was a little hard to breath. Humid, thick air. Thick. Thick.

The last thing I remember is being in the water naked, approaching Judar. And ta millisecond thought dawning on me that something was wrong.


End file.
